NEWSWATCH Atlantic Council/Anders Aslund: “Ukraine Two Years After Euromaidan: What Has Been Accomplished?”
Anders Aslund assesses developments in Ukraine since Euromaidan.
Two years ago, popular protests erupted against Ukraine’s former President Viktor Yanukovych on Kyiv’s Maidan. Since then, Ukraine’s economy has deteriorated sharply, with a contraction of 18 percent in two years, but the Poroshenko Bloc was the biggest party by far in the October 25 local elections. One might say that the Ukrainian nation has been forged in defense against Russian aggression, and many reforms have been carried out.
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Ukraine’s greatest asset is its strong civil society. Ukraine is far too transparent and open to stay so corrupt. Ukrainians are also far too educated to stay so poor. Something has to give. It is not likely to be the Ukrainian population.